Advocate

ADVOCATE FOR FERAL CATS

Learn how to help neighborhood cats in your community by using the cruelty-free strategy of trap/neuter/return (TNR). Take direct, compassionate action and change a cat’s life for the better now. Be a neighborhood hero!

Find out who the elected officials are in your community. Reach out to them if you think that more could be done in your neighborhood to help free-roaming cats. Write a letter or e-mail explaining the issue and how you think you can help. Ask to speak at a local City Council meeting.

JOIN ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY E-MAIL GROUPS

Connect with other people doing TNR in your area. Get help fixing the cats in your city! Help others doing the same! E-Mail or call the Clinic (510-215-9300) and ask to be added to the group for your location.

ANIMAL CRUELTY – UNDERSTAND THE LAW

Killing or harming cats and other animals is a serious crime. Anyone who takes any action to harm animals may be prosecuted for a felony and face imprisonment and substantial criminal fines. Attached an excerpt from the California Penal Code.

Cruelty or threats of cruelty against animals will be immediately reported to the Animal Control Department of the city where the crime or threats occur.

Excerpt from California Penal Code: Animal Cruelty

§597. Cruelty to Animals (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section or Section 599c,
every person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures or wounds a living animal or maliciously and intentionally kills an animal, is guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment, or, alternatively, by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a) or (c), every person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink,
or shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, or causes or procures any animal to
be so overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived
of necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter, or to be cruelly beaten, mutilated, or cruelly killed; and whoever, having the charge or custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects
any animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon the animal, or in any manner abuses any animal, or fails to provide the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter or protection from the weather, or who drives, rides, or otherwise uses the animal when unfit for labor, is
for every such offence, guilty of a crime punishable as a misdemeanor as a felony or alternatively punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony and by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
(c) Every person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates or tortures any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish as described in subdivision (d), is guilty of an offense punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both the fine and the imprisonment, or, alternatively, by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.

ADVOCATE AS A COLONY CARETAKER

As the colony caregiver, you become the cats’ public relations firm. These steps will help maintain their good image and their good neighbor status in your community. If neighbors do not know who “speaks for the cats,” they have no one but animal control to contact with complaints or problems. Being open about care-giving can protect the cats. One way to maintain good relations is to establish and maintain a friendly dialog with residents living in the cats’ neighborhood and readily address all neighbor concerns. Make yourself available and provide them with a way to contact you.

To address concerns:

Establish a friendly, ongoing discussion and know your facts. Explain to residents living in the cats’ neighborhood what Trap-Neuter-Return and colony care entails—explain that the cats are cared for and pose no health risk. You may find that other neighbors are feeding the cats as well and you can combine your efforts and set up a schedule.Explain that the cats have lived at the site for a long time, that they have been (or will be) neutered, which will virtually eliminate behaviors such as roaming, fighting, yowling, and spraying, and that a managed colony will be stable and healthy. Also explain that if the present colony is removed, new, unsterilized cats are certain to move in. This is a phenomenon known as the vacuum effect.

Remain calm and constructive in all of your dealings. Present information and interact with others in a reasonable, professional manner. You will give neighbors confidence that you know what you are doing and care about their interests. Should you get to the point where you feel you can no longer control your temper, put the brakes on the discussion and ask someone else—perhaps a fellow caregiver or neighbor—to help mediate.

When dealing with a neighbor that has concerns about the cats, determine the specific problem and do your best to resolve it. Address individual complaints by listening patiently and asking questions that uncover the specific problem. Problems that may seem on the surface to be about feral cats may instead be about you or a neighbor’s cat. Instead of arguing or pointing the blame elsewhere, do your best to find a solution to any problems that arise. In most cases, the problems are very easily resolved, when dealt with quickly and in a calm and helpful manner.

There are some steps you can take preemptively that may help you avoid potential questions or concerns altogether:

Trap-Neuter-Return. Neighbors are often bothered by behaviors associated with breeding, such as roaming, fighting, yowling, spraying, and the birth of litters of kittens. Your Trap-Neuter-Return program will virtually eliminate these behaviors.

Clean feeding areas and follow feeding protocols: Keep the cats’ feeding stations or areas clean and trash free. Building attractive, but inconspicuous shelters and feeding stations can help maintain cleanliness. Do not put out more food than the cats will finish in one meal. Remove what they do not eat after 30 minutes and clean up the area. Never leave food out overnight as this can attract unwanted wildlife.

Keep the location of feeding stations and shelters discreet. Cats can be discouraged from climbing on cars or other private property by gradually moving their shelters and feeding stations away from these areas. The cats will follow the food and shelter.

Provide litter box areas. To keep cats from using neighborhood gardens as litter boxes, build one or more litter boxes or place sand or peat moss in strategic areas for the cats to use as litter (do not use conventional litter, as it will be ruined by weather). Be sure that the litter area is in a quiet, sheltered space. Scoop regularly to alleviate odors and keep flies away. Be prepared to scoop more often in hot weather.

Use humane deterrents to keep cats away from places they are not wanted. There are many safe, low-tech methods to discourage feral cats from hanging out where they are not wanted, like neighbors’ gardens, yards, porches, or vehicles. Read more about humane deterrent techniques. Always offer to provide and apply these methods for neighbors at your own expense. Consider pooling resources with other caregivers, if possible, to cover the cost of such items.

Address poisoning threats. While you are assessing a feral cat colony, you may encounter poisoning threats to the cats by uninformed people. There are steps you can take to put a stop to these threats and ensure the ongoing safety of the colony.In many states and locales, poisoning domestic animals—including feral cats—is a crime. You can check your laws through your local government or local animal control offices.When a serious poison threat is made or a cat dies mysteriously, confront this behavior head-on by posting a flyer detailing the laws about animal cruelty and poisoning and the potential sentence for such crimes. The flyer lets the neighborhood (and the potential poisoner) know that the cats are being looked after and that others are watching—and that the threatened offense is a crime.

Maintain colony records. Though you should take every step to prevent neighbors from calling animal control, you should always be prepared for the possibility. This is why you should always maintain current, accurate health records, including vaccination data and photographs, for all of the cats in your colony.

Protect yourself and the cats. Draw up an agreement with the neighbor who has concerns describing them and what it is you plan to do to address them. Make a note of who is responsible for the costs and the deadline for every action. Each party should receive a copy of the agreement. You should each sign the document to indicate that everyone agrees to the proposed solution. Then each party should sign the agreement again upon completion of the plan. This document will be written proof that you addressed your neighbor’s concern and she/he agrees that the situation has been resolved.